Graduate students’ identified learning outcomes achieved by a community health initiative course sequence
Pamela Reynolds, PT, EdD, Professor, Gannon University [reynolds@gannon.edu]
Keywords: Community health, physical therapy, course sequence, longitudinal study, professional development, doctoral students
Summary
This poster presents results from five years of student identified learning outcomes related to the Community Health Initiative’s five-course sequence. Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) students affirmed they are linking their community service-learning experiences to their professional social responsibility roles in society.
Each Community Health Initiative course has a service-learning component that builds in complexity, beginning with students’ involvement in established community projects chosen by the DPT program. Beginning in the second course, students have opportunities to choose a community organization in which they are interested. The sequence culminates in a capstone project, requiring a minimum of 60 hours in which students collaborate with a community agency to meet an identified need or goal of that organization. Students are expected to demonstrate their roles as educators, consultants, and/or advocates through the course sequence.
A retrospective longitudinal case series design was used for this study, focusing on student identified educational outcomes from the five-course sequence. Eighty-three percent of students identified outcomes that occurred in seven categories required by national accreditation standards for physical therapy. Recognized evaluative criteria in order of percent of total frequencies were: Social Responsibility and Advocacy – 19.6%; Prevention, Health Promotion, Fitness and Wellness – 16.9%; Education – 11.37%; Compassion and Caring – 10.7%; Accountability – 9.2%; Cultural Competence - 8.7%; and Communication – 6.52%.
In this study investigating how service-learning benefits students’ professional development and education, faculty members most frequently recognized the learning outcome “understanding individual differences.” Although the pedagogy of serving-learning is acknowledged, it is still not deeply embedded within the majority of physical therapy curricula. The information from this study is important for educators who adamantly embrace service-learning and those who are looking for more evidence of effectiveness before incorporating it more fully into their curricula.
Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education. (2004). Evaluative criteria for accreditation of education programs for the preparation of physical therapists. Alexandria, VA: American Physical Therapy Association.
Reynolds, P. J. (2005). How service-learning experiences benefit physical therapist students’ professional development: A grounded theory study. Journal of Physical Therapy Education,19(1), 41-51.
Reynolds, P. J. (2009). Connecting interprofessional education to the community through service-learning and community-engaged scholarship. In G. Jensen, C. Royeen, & R. Harvan. Leadership in interprofessional education and practice (pp. 167-187). Sudbury, MA: Jones and Bartlett.
To access materials from this session please click on the file link(s) below:
Graduate students’ identified learning outcomes achieved by a community health initiative course sequence
Pamela Reynolds, PT, EdD, Professor, Gannon University [reynolds@gannon.edu]
Keywords: Community health, physical therapy, course sequence, longitudinal study, professional development, doctoral students
Conference track: Higher education student outcomes
Format: Poster presentation
Summary
This poster presents results from five years of student identified learning outcomes related to the Community Health Initiative’s five-course sequence. Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) students affirmed they are linking their community service-learning experiences to their professional social responsibility roles in society.
Each Community Health Initiative course has a service-learning component that builds in complexity, beginning with students’ involvement in established community projects chosen by the DPT program. Beginning in the second course, students have opportunities to choose a community organization in which they are interested. The sequence culminates in a capstone project, requiring a minimum of 60 hours in which students collaborate with a community agency to meet an identified need or goal of that organization. Students are expected to demonstrate their roles as educators, consultants, and/or advocates through the course sequence.
A retrospective longitudinal case series design was used for this study, focusing on student identified educational outcomes from the five-course sequence. Eighty-three percent of students identified outcomes that occurred in seven categories required by national accreditation standards for physical therapy. Recognized evaluative criteria in order of percent of total frequencies were: Social Responsibility and Advocacy – 19.6%; Prevention, Health Promotion, Fitness and Wellness – 16.9%; Education – 11.37%; Compassion and Caring – 10.7%; Accountability – 9.2%; Cultural Competence - 8.7%; and Communication – 6.52%.
In this study investigating how service-learning benefits students’ professional development and education, faculty members most frequently recognized the learning outcome “understanding individual differences.” Although the pedagogy of serving-learning is acknowledged, it is still not deeply embedded within the majority of physical therapy curricula. The information from this study is important for educators who adamantly embrace service-learning and those who are looking for more evidence of effectiveness before incorporating it more fully into their curricula.
References
American Physical Therapy Association. (2004). Professionalism in physical therapy: Core values. Alexandria, VA: American Physical Therapy Association. Retrieved March 28, 2012, from http://www.apta.org/uploadedFiles/APTAorg/About_Us/Policies/BOD/Judicial/Professionalismin
PT.pdf#search=%22Professionalism in Physical Therapy%22.
American Physical Therapy Association. (2010). Code of ethics for the physical therapist. Retrieved from http://www.apta.org/uploadedFiles/APTAorg/About_Us/Policies/HOD/Ethics/CodeofEthics.pdf#search=%22Code of Ethics%22.
Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education. (2004). Evaluative criteria for accreditation of education programs for the preparation of physical therapists. Alexandria, VA: American Physical Therapy Association.
Reynolds, P. J. (2005). How service-learning experiences benefit physical therapist students’ professional development: A grounded theory study. Journal of Physical Therapy Education, 19(1), 41-51.
Reynolds, P. J. (2009). Connecting interprofessional education to the community through service-learning and community-engaged scholarship. In G. Jensen, C. Royeen, & R. Harvan. Leadership in interprofessional education and practice (pp. 167-187). Sudbury, MA: Jones and Bartlett.
To access materials from this session please click on the file link(s) below: